Young People, Technology, and Wellbeing Research Facility. Large numbers of initiatives now mobilise technology to support the wellbeing of young Australians. However, amongst communities undertaking this work, there is currently significant duplication and insufficient sharing of research and best practice models. A Research Facility that consolidates existing research, and guides new research and initiatives will improve service delivery to young Australians by: reducing duplication between or ....Young People, Technology, and Wellbeing Research Facility. Large numbers of initiatives now mobilise technology to support the wellbeing of young Australians. However, amongst communities undertaking this work, there is currently significant duplication and insufficient sharing of research and best practice models. A Research Facility that consolidates existing research, and guides new research and initiatives will improve service delivery to young Australians by: reducing duplication between organizations working with young people; providing an accessible interface with research that can help address the community’s concerns about the role of technology in young people’s lives, and inform future policy and programs; and model effective cross-sector knowledge brokering to Australian industry. Read moreRead less
Digital storytelling and co-creative media: the role of community arts and media in propagating and coordinating population-wide creative practice. Community arts, community broadcasting and Indigenous media producers all face the challenge of digital media and user-led innovation. This project brings these systems together to test how existing infrastructure and new media affordances can be combined to stimulate broad-based innovation through creative participation.
Australian cultural and creative activity: A population and hotspot analysis. This project aims to grasp the contemporary dynamics of cultural and creative activity in Australia. It represents a major innovation, bringing together population-level and comparative studies of local cultural and creative activity. The comprehensive project will advance the integration of quantitative and qualitative research strategies, painting a complete national picture, while also exploring the factors that are ....Australian cultural and creative activity: A population and hotspot analysis. This project aims to grasp the contemporary dynamics of cultural and creative activity in Australia. It represents a major innovation, bringing together population-level and comparative studies of local cultural and creative activity. The comprehensive project will advance the integration of quantitative and qualitative research strategies, painting a complete national picture, while also exploring the factors that are producing local and regional creative hotspots. The project will deliver outputs such as reports and forums that are framed in close collaboration with partners in order to deliver outcomes such as better-targeted policy and program initiatives. This will provide national cultural and policy benefits from placing the creative sector in front of policy makers as a vital contributor to high growth, labour-intensive economic activity in the context of the Australian economy in transition.Read moreRead less
New approaches measuring Australia’s creative workforce: Beyond the Census . This project aims to develop new approaches to measuring Australia’s creative workforce to address increasingly urgent questions about the value of this growing but poorly understood part of the economy and society. It expects to develop and demonstrate novel methods for capturing a range of creative activity currently at the margins of traditional measurement typified by the Census. Expected outcomes, which will benefi ....New approaches measuring Australia’s creative workforce: Beyond the Census . This project aims to develop new approaches to measuring Australia’s creative workforce to address increasingly urgent questions about the value of this growing but poorly understood part of the economy and society. It expects to develop and demonstrate novel methods for capturing a range of creative activity currently at the margins of traditional measurement typified by the Census. Expected outcomes, which will benefit industry partners, the cultural and creative industries, and international scholarship, include new understandings of the scope of creative qualifications, the contribution of creatives working outside the creative industries, the extent of second and other incomes, and the value of volunteering and online entrepreneurship.Read moreRead less
Production Challenges in the On-Line Learning Environment. The shift of responsibility from teacher-centred learning to learner-centred learning has raised important questions of access for diverse groups in Australia and overseas. The project seeks to investigate new delivery mechanisms that respond to worldwide trends in virtual communities and self-directed learning. This research will explore the relationship between content pedagogy, use of technology, and work-related issues and expectatio ....Production Challenges in the On-Line Learning Environment. The shift of responsibility from teacher-centred learning to learner-centred learning has raised important questions of access for diverse groups in Australia and overseas. The project seeks to investigate new delivery mechanisms that respond to worldwide trends in virtual communities and self-directed learning. This research will explore the relationship between content pedagogy, use of technology, and work-related issues and expectations. It will adopt a qualitative and quantitative research methodology in identifying opportunities, producing a learning prototype, testing and trialing that prototype and applying research outcomes in the context of emergent new educational models that draw upon convergent media.Read moreRead less
Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discove ....Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discover books and the cultural factors that influence their choices. Expected outcomes include strategies that libraries, schools, and the book industry can use to promote Australian content for young adults, and equip young people to participate more fully in the social and economic benefits of pleasure reading.Read moreRead less
A Pedagogy for Multiliteracies with Information and Communication Technologies in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this project is to determine the most effective pedagogy for the use of ICT in Australian early childhood education. The research is essential in order to plan for a world-class educational future for young Australians. A collaborative action-research program will be undertaken by three leading academics in association with a network of thirty-six teachers in three states. Thi ....A Pedagogy for Multiliteracies with Information and Communication Technologies in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this project is to determine the most effective pedagogy for the use of ICT in Australian early childhood education. The research is essential in order to plan for a world-class educational future for young Australians. A collaborative action-research program will be undertaken by three leading academics in association with a network of thirty-six teachers in three states. This innovative research approach is based on a multiliteracies framework. The project will investigate how ICT can best be used for enhancing children's learning and identify specific ways in which teachers can develop multiliteracies in early childhood education environments. Read moreRead less
Enhancing the content and experience of Interactive Childrens Television. Interactive television (iTV) as a participatory, on-demand communication provides a unique opportunity to significantly engage, entertain and educate preschool children. Through considerable industry partner collaboration and participation, this project will evaluate three distinct interactive options produced from selected children's television programs with proven success in Australia. Usability studies employing a vari ....Enhancing the content and experience of Interactive Childrens Television. Interactive television (iTV) as a participatory, on-demand communication provides a unique opportunity to significantly engage, entertain and educate preschool children. Through considerable industry partner collaboration and participation, this project will evaluate three distinct interactive options produced from selected children's television programs with proven success in Australia. Usability studies employing a variety of surveillance techniques will evaluate content design and user response. Children's viewing habits will be evaluated within a social context (the home) and a mobile lab setting using qualitative and quantitative assessment. The results will identify effective ways to produce meaningful interactivity and will encourage future industry based research.Read moreRead less
Supporting personalised learning in secondary schools through the use of specific mathematics assessments that reveal thinking. This project will improve numeracy standards in secondary schools, by assisting teachers to personalise the teaching of each student. Through detailed research, the project will develop sophisticated assessments that clearly reveal students' mathematical thinking. On-line diagnosis will suggest teaching activities that can bring about desired conceptual changes. The eff ....Supporting personalised learning in secondary schools through the use of specific mathematics assessments that reveal thinking. This project will improve numeracy standards in secondary schools, by assisting teachers to personalise the teaching of each student. Through detailed research, the project will develop sophisticated assessments that clearly reveal students' mathematical thinking. On-line diagnosis will suggest teaching activities that can bring about desired conceptual changes. The effectiveness of the resources will be thoroughly tested, for impact on student achievement and the mathematics teaching skills of teachers, especially those working out-of-field. Rural schools will have equal access to these resources. Good numeracy provides the foundation for life-long learning, employment satisfaction and the economic competitiveness of Australia.Read moreRead less
Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. This project aims to develop an evidence base of quantitative and qualitative data about how eBooks are used in libraries. EBooks have tremendous beneficial potential, particularly for Australians in remote areas and those with impaired mobility or vision. However, libraries’ rights to acquire and lend them are more restricted than for physical b ....Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. This project aims to develop an evidence base of quantitative and qualitative data about how eBooks are used in libraries. EBooks have tremendous beneficial potential, particularly for Australians in remote areas and those with impaired mobility or vision. However, libraries’ rights to acquire and lend them are more restricted than for physical books. Libraries and legal, social and data science researchers will investigate eBook lending practices and understand their social impacts. The project will identify ways of reforming policy, law, and practice to help libraries fulfil their public interest missions. This project is expected to enable libraries to extract more value from existing public investments.Read moreRead less